Jammu orders immediate care for Covid affected families, orphaned children

The Child Welfare Committee was directed to ensure rehabilitation of orphaned children through measures such as adoption, foster care, sponsorships.

Jammu administration asked officials late Wednesday to identify and rehabilitate children orphaned by Covid-19 under the recently launched special assistance schemes for Covid mortalities (SASCM/SAKSHAM), which covers families that lost their sole bread earners due to the pandemic with pension and scholarships.

Nearly 500 children either lost either a single parent or both to Covid 19 during the second wave across Jammu and Kashmir. (Getty Images/Representative)

The District Level Task Force (DLTF) for providing care and protection to children affected by Covid-19 decided to immediately compile details of all Covid-19 deaths and the children affected thereof. Nearly 500 children either lost a single parent or both to Covid 19 during the second wave across Jammu and Kashmir.

The Child Welfare Committee was directed to ensure rehabilitation of orphaned children through measures such as adoption, foster care, sponsorships etc and also psychological counselling and nutritional support apart from timely referral for Covid-19 treatment if found infected.

Jammu district commissioner Anshul Garg said that a cash assistance of ₹1000 per month will be provided to the spouse or the eldest member of the families that qualify under the scheme apart from scholarship of ₹20,000 per annum for school going students and ₹40,000 per annum for college going students. A family in distress shall be eligible for scholarship for two children, if they are not getting any other scholarship, he added.